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Metro Wines Blogs
Elisabetta Fagiuoli has a spirituality about her that is present in her wines. She is the owner of Montenidoli in the San Gimignano region of Chianti, Tuscany. Montenidoli means "the mountain of the little nests" and it is comprised of 24 hectares of vineyards surrounded by 200 hectares of woodlands. The Etruscans were the first to discover this treasure and plant vines, followed by the Romans and the Knights Templar.
The property which she owned with her late companion Sergio was brought under vine in 1965, and at the time was abandoned wilderness. Located on the top of hills, the farm is remote and has spectacular vistas of the Chianti hillsides. There is a profound respect of the vineyard and the land which is clearly present in the winemaking at Montenidoli. Fagiuoli's highest vineyards are comprised of Triassic soils which are over 350 million years old.
More on Elisabetta: Comprehensive interview and video with Monty Waldin of Grape Collective here: https://grapecollective.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Château De L'Ane neighbors the legendary Château Cheval Blanc and shares the same iron laced blue fruit and dried violet of Saint Emilion's northern plateau.
94 Point Wine Enthusiast
6 Bottles in Wood Box from Winery with a Bow!
Call (828) 575-9525
Date: Sat, Nov 21, 2020 at 1:37 PM
Subject: Black Friday
To: <letters@citizen-times.com>
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*** Top Thanksgiving Picks***
*** The Sparkling ***
New York Times: "For my money, the best sparkling wine in the US
*** The White ***
*** The Red ***
2018 Lodi Cinsault- 8 barrels produced. Planted in 1886 in Lodi. Vinous Media Says 93 Points Hey! Wait a minute! Let's Get Crazy!
*** The Rose ***
Limited Distribution. 2019 is $19.99 |
| In Memoriam Walmart Deep Sixes Robots in Aisles Walmart has ended use of roving robots in aisles to track inventory. Some of the roving job stealing machines were 6 feet tall! Good Bye and Good Riddance! We are a Robot Free Zone @MetroWines now and always! That said, we need a wine to acknowledge this occasion, LIOCO Chardonnay Sonoma Country 2018, $24
NYT Eric Asimov places Lioco in his list of wines for Thanksgiving. |
| From The MetroWines Level The "Wine Playing Field" Desk Sexual Harassment is a Fixture Inside The Court of Master Sommeliers. Shop Women Winery Owners & Women Winemakers!
Near the villages of Minerve and La Caunette in Languedoc, situated on a high plateau, lies Château Coupe-Roses, an organic estate. Their vineyards are at the highest altitudes in Minervois, between 750 and 1,350 feet above sea level, where the cool nights and moderate temperatures allow the grapes Bastide Minervois is a blend of 45%Carignan, 45%Grenache & 5%Syrah, Bastide is not new to the shop but it is a continued favorite every year
with an earthy, dirty taste, finishing with a sweaty leather saddle - in a good way!" Unavailable at wine.com$17.99 @MetroWines |
National Wine Clubs
We have to talk about it.
Time to stop just talking the talk and walk the talk.
In addition to not being as exclusive as presented,
not as convenient, not as inexpensive, Wine Clubs are by nature a dark,
smoky, negative impact on the environment. This is particularly hypocritical
and offensive when the Wine Club is hosted by a thoughtful organization
such as National Geographic or NPR. And since COVID,
membership in national Wine Clubs has gone exponential.
Ever hear the old saying that the expert is always from 50 miles away.
Not true there or here. We are the experts. We tasted every wine on the shelves.
We are not motivated by advertising $$s, just customer service!
Open letter to National Geographic, the latest offender:
https://metrowinesasheville.
shame-on-you-national-
Here is Lettie Teague's Take on Wine Clubs in Wall Street Journal
https://www.wsj.com/articles/
deliver-on-their-promises-
Bottom Line: SHOP LOCALLY
And BTW, You won't be getting this treasure in any wine club!
A Ciao Asheville Approved Wine.
From Rosenthal Imports - "Made from a blend of several traditional
local grapes: Bosco (60% of blend), Vermentino (20%) and Albarola (20%).
The vineyards that produce this wine are situated on south-facing slopes
in the hamlet of Volastra in the town of Riomaggiore, the heart of the breathtaking Cinque Terre region. In this instance, [winemaker] Pierluigi Lugano opts to leave
this cuvée on the lees for an extended period of time, respecting the old traditions
of the region. The result is a full-bodied, earthy wine of immense character,
almost briny, with a deeper golden tint to its color than is found in his other whites and marked by the aromas of heather, broom and juniper."
What's Cinque Terre (the place) all about?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
$35 at Vivino
The 2018 is $34. Cinque Terre!
Cinque Terre? This one is going to MOVE. Call (828) 575-9525!
| Blind Tasting League Goes Multi-Media!!! *** Wednesday, November 18th at 5:30 *** Join us on Facebook LIVE OR Join us on Zoom!
No charge. No experience necessary. If you do want to taste along with Andy, you can pick up And don't tell Andy! |
| *** Big RED of The Week ***
Not new to the shop but you cannot improve on perfection! We agree with this review: "In the age of Wine Corporations and LLCs,
The Tamarack Cellars Firehouse Red 2017 is a blend of 33%Syrah, sourced from vineyards in the Columbia Valley AVAof Washington State. Dark fruit on the nose, including ripe raspberry and blackberry with notes of cocoa, anise and a soft, round mid-palate. On the palate, grippy tannin gives way to black cherry, baking spices with herbal notes, followed by a hint of BBQ, Firehouse Red is aged in 40% new oak barrels, mostly French and American oak with a compliment of Hungarian oak, and 60% 2nd and 3rd vintage barrels. $17.99 |
| *** Beaujolais Nouveau ***
Tasting and Class on ZOOM with Brett Watson @MetroWines MetroWines is showcasing the ENTIRE lineup of the critically acclaimed Chermette Wines are allocated meaning when gone, they are GONE! The Small Print: These are direct press wines of the same bottlings,
Can't Wait? Want to stock up on a Classic for Thanksgiving? |
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| After reading rave reviews about this series in nearly every respectable publication, I watched, strike that, I gulped it down whole! One such Review: https://www. the-queens-gambit-movie- In choosing our "Watch it With Wine," let's put aside the obvious gender bias On a cold night, take on "The Queen's Gambit" with a bottle of Sherry. Sip before bed? Here are some ideas to make it an even more cozy experience: The Rest of the Sherry Story from Wine Folly:
Secco (Dry): $19.99 |
The BIG RED of the Week
Wine Enthusiast: 90 Points
Blackberry jam, cherry, and dark chocolate aromas with spicy hints
of licorice and clove. Pairs excellently with a bacon cheeseburger.
The 2018 is spot on internet pricing!
for $19.99 @MetroWines
Brett says "Big fruit packed style but very approachable."
*** Big Deal of The Week *** Sannio Piedirosso Fontana Vecchia 2017 Azienda Agricola Fontanavecchia, Piedirosso, Taburno, Campania, Italy, {organic} 100% Piedirosso
BRIGHT CHERRY & BERRY, ROSES & DISTINCT SMOKINESS ***MetroWines Teaching Moment *** 13.99 @MetroWines |
I love National Geographic. In my experience, although it is sometimes painful to what one would like to beleive, the publication speaks the truth. And that is why I was so very disappointed to see National Geographic had started a wine club.
Much like NPR (see post below on this site), National Geographic has set forth the facts on climate change, what has happened, what is happening, the contributing factors and what we can expect in the future. One of the factors is fossil fuel. Wine Clubs involve nationwide shipping in fossil fueled, smoking and belching, powered trucks.
And the impact is greater than the evnvornment. Wine Clubs are a big negative for the local economy. 67 cents of every dollar spent in a local shop stays in the community. That's jobs, that's roads, that's structural upgrades.
Wine Clubs try to interest you by saying the wines are exclusive. Think about it. If the wines were so exclusive, so special, how could they be distributed nationwide? Look at the fine print. National Geographic is in "Partnership with Laith Wines." So is NPR. So are a number of other environmentally destructive wine clubs.
Add no personal service to this environmental disaster. Let's say a bottle breaks or is corked. You will be asked to send it back. More trucking. Let's say you want a recipe for this particular mass made wine. Who you gonna call?
You want to support the causes to which National Geographic is devoted. Me too. The better solution is to shop your wines locally and make a tax deductible donation to National Geographic. Wine purchases are, obviously not tax deductable, but taxes paid when you shop in your community stay in your community providing benefits to you and your family.
To be part of the solution, Simply Shop LocalLY. Lessen the negative impact on the environment, keep your dollars in your community to support jobs and public works, and make your life more convenient and increase your acccess to service. Everybody wins when you shop locally.
Donate to National Geographic HERE! and shop your wine @MetroWines.
| *** WiNE SWAP ***
WE CAN HELP @MetroWines! |
NPR has a wine club. For an organization that raises the alarm on global warming, this effort which will necessarily involve a lot of fossil fuel to ship, rather than encourage shopping at a local wine shop, seems inconsistent. In addition, any shipping presents the risk of damage, return, and leaves you with no advice from an on staff sommelier. Local shops, like us, deliver to your door! Lot less fuel from Charlotte Street to your door than from Laith Wines (wherever they are) to your home. Stike a blow for the environment, convenience, community and quality. Shop locally.
This is the NPR fine print (which reads the same as the fine print for a LOT of other national so called wine clubs): "Offer subject to approval and availability and limited to one case per household. In the unlikely event of a wine becoming unavailable, a substitute of similar style and of equal or greater value will be supplied. Licensed retailers reserve the right to refuse any order. State and local policy governs all transactions. Licensed retailers only fulfill orders from adults at least 21 years old and all applicable taxes are paid."
This is our fine print: Big Shop Selection and Small Shop Service!
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*** Save Yourself ***
Your Pair it With Wine: "Megan and I make a great pair. Our tastes in wine rarely diverge. We agree 99% of the time. This Vermentino represents a fundamental disagreement of the most endearing qualities this grape has to offer. Inspired by some of our favorite producers in Italy like Dettori and Massa Vecchia, and being an orange wine fanatic in general, I knew we had to make Vermentino as a compliment to the Ribolla Gialla when I came across the Las Brisas Vineyard in Carneros. Megan thought it was a superb idea, but had her sights fixed on the bright, clean, aromatic examples from places like the Ligurian coast or Gallura in Sardegna. The only compromise was to have separate projects, “His” and “Hers”. “Hers” with a green label harvested for freshness and energy. It is whole cluster pressed and bottled early. “His”, orange label, is fermented on the skins, and requires more time in barrel. This aromatic late-ripening variety comes from the cool foggy Las Brisas Vineyard on the Sonoma side of Carneros AVA. Situated on sandy silt and gravel at end of the Petaluma Wind Gap, just off San Pablo Bay, it is a beautiful site for white wines. Winery Says: The 2019 Vermentino is lithe and refreshing. Mouth watering, "Hers" bursts with lemon rind, chamomile, and salty sea spray. The palate is zippy and crunchy rounding out with texture and depth. Winery is Sold Out! |
| *** Make Something ***
Floral Designer Lindsey Taylor takes inspiration from paintings. Pick a painting that "speaks to you" and give it even greater voice
Le P'Tit Paysan 2018 Chardonnay $21.99 at Vivino |
| *** BE a History Buff *** From The MetroWines Book Suggestion Department "Wine and The White House" presented by The White House Historical Association Written by Frederick Ryan https://shop. And here is my most humble piece from 4 years ago Until President Johnson decreed only domestic wines would be served
Le P'Tit Paysan 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Winery says: "We select grapes from vineyards off the beaten path $29.99 at wine.com Wheels UP! $23 @MetroWines! |
